New trading app Syfe to offer stocks, crypto, robo-advice
The mobile trading platform offers trades from $1 into US stocks and $5 in cryptocurrencies.
The newest investment app to grace Australia's shore plans to be a one-stop shop for stocks, cryptocurrency and wealth management.
Syfe first launched in Singapore in 2019 and has since grown its customer base there by 100,000. Now it's planning to break into the competitive Australian market by offering a single "all-in-one" mobile platform.
At a press event on Tuesday, Syfe representatives said Australian customers would soon have access to wealth management services, including managed portfolios and high-yielding cash accounts, in addition to stock and crypto trading features.
It also offers fractional shares from a low minimum of just $1. In other words, you could invest $1 into Apple shares through Syfe rather than buy 1 whole Apple stock for around $160.
The option to set up an automated, recurring trade into your stock or exchange-traded fund (ETF) of choice is a nice and welcome touch. This relatively uncommon feature (among stock trading apps) let's you take the low-risk approach of dollar-cost averaging into the market.
Note: A previous version of this article stated that Syfe offers recurring trades into cryptocurrencies, however this feature is not yet available. At the time of writing Syfe only offers automated trades into stocks and ETFs.
Here are the highlights:
- US stocks and ETFs (fractional)
- Cryptocurrencies (the 20 biggest)
- Automated trades
- Dow Jones news and analysis
Still to come are ASX stocks (reportedly in 2022), high-yield cash accounts, managed and customisable portfolios and personal advice services.
It's not yet clear whether ASX stocks will be CHESS-sponsored or custodial (held in your name by the broker) and what the related costs are to trade Australian shares.
What are the costs?
At this stage, you can only trade US stocks, US ETFs and 20 major cryptocurrencies on the app. Here are the standard costs:
- Stocks and ETFs: 2 $0 commission trades per month, then US$1.49 on all trades
- Crypto: 1% transaction fee
- Currency conversion fee: 50 basis points (US$0.50 for every AUD$100 converted)
That marks it as pretty cheap but not quite the lowest on costs. You can check out how other share trading platforms compare here or take a look at our cryptocurrency exchange table.
Growing broker competition
Syfe isn't the first to offer stock and cryptocurrency trading on the same platform in Australia.
With competition in the space heating up over the last couple of years, several brokers have expanded their range of available assets by partnering with overseas brokers or exchanges.
In June, Australian share trading and superannuation platform Superhero and cryptocurrency exchange Swyftx announced merger plans to become a single trading platform.
Trading app eToro added direct crypto purchases in September 2021 alongside US stocks and is looking to launch Australian stocks some time this year.
Where Syfe might stand out further will be in its wealth management services. While details are limited, once released, it will be among the first mobile platforms in Australia to combine trading services alongside advice offerings.
Syfe is now officially live in Australia as of August 2022 and can be downloaded via the App Store or Google Play.
